The chords we’re going to talk about below are the best ones to start with. Why?
For two reasons:
- They’re the easiest chords to remember and to physically play
- So many songs use some combination of these chords
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The Best Guitar Chords for Beginners (You Should Know Them)
- A guitar chord is a combination of notes played together on the fretboard
- The three main types of chords are open, barred, and power chords
- The best guitar chords to start with are A major, A minor, G major, F major, E major, E minor, D major, C major, and B minor
- Ultimate Guitar and ChordFind are two websites that are super helpful for learning songs on guitar
- Introduction
- Why Are These Chords the Best To Start With?
- The Different Types of Guitar Chords
- Open Chords
- Barre Chords
- Power Chords
- How To Read Guitar Tabs
- The Best Guitar Chords for Beginners
- A Major
- A Minor
- G Major
- F Major
- E Major
- E Minor
- D Major
- C Major
- B Minor
- Two Websites To Help You Learn Songs
What is a guitar chord?
Just so we’re all on the same page…
A guitar chord is a combination of notes played together, caused by pressing your fingers on the fretboard on different frets on different strings.
Why Are These Chords the Best To Start With?
The Different Types of Guitar Chords
There are three basic ways to play each chord:
- Open (usually the standard way to play a chord, but not always)
- Barred
- Power chord
Let’s cover all three…
Open Chords
When you play a string “open,” it means you’re not pressing a finger anywhere on that string down.
So an open chord has one or more open strings.
They sound open and lush.
The strings ring out with each strum.
Open chords are usually the standard way you play each chord (more on that when we cover the individual chords).
Barre Chords
Barre chords (or “bar chords”) are when you use your index finger to create a bar across all or some of the strings on the same fret.
These are a bit more difficult to play, and usually, beginners avoid them at all costs.
That’s not a bad idea, although you will have to learn barre chords at some point.
Power Chords
A power chord involves 2-3 notes and it’s neither minor nor major.
You usually use just two or three fingers, the third finger playing the lowest note an octave up.
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How To Read Guitar Tabs
In the above image, you’ll see what guitar diagrams look like. They’re viewed as if you’re facing the guitar, so the string all the way to the left is the low E string.
The dots represent which frets you place your fingers on. Some diagrams put numbers inside the dots that correspond to each finger:
- 1 is your index finger
- 2 is your middle finger
- 3 is your ring finger
- 4 is your pinky
And if you see a line going across all the strings on one fret, that’s a bar chord. The line is where you press down all the strings under the line with the side of your index finger.
There’s another way to write and read chord layouts. It also uses numbers, but in this case the numbers represent the fret you play – “0” meaning you play the string without pressing on any part of it, “X” meaning you don’t play the string at all. Like this…
A Major:
e | 0
B | 2
G | 2
D | 2
A | 0
E | X
The Best Guitar Chords for Beginners
Below are the best chords for beginners to learn. With these chords, you can learn most popular songs.
A Major
Standard finger placement:
e | 0
B | 2
G | 2
D | 2
A | 0
E | X
Barred:
e | 5
B | 5
G | 6
D | 7
A | 7
E | 5
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 7
A | 7
E | 5
A Minor
Standard finger placement:
e | 0
B | 1
G | 2
D | 2
A | 0
E | X
Barred:
e | 5
B | 5
G | 5
D | 7
A | 7
E | 5
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 7
A | 7
E | 5
G Major
Standard finger placement:
e | 3
B | 0
G | 0
D | 0
A | 2
E | 3
Barred:
e | 3
B | 3
G | 4
D | 5
A | 5
E | 3
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 5
A | 5
E | 3
F Major
Standard finger placement (barred):
e | 1
B | 1
G | 2
D | 3
A | 3
E | 1
Barred (alternate):
e | 1
B | 1
G | 2
D | 3
A | X
E | X
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 3
A | 3
E | 1
E Major
Standard finger placement:
e | 0
B | 0
G | 1
D | 2
A | 2
E | 0
Barred:
e | 7
B | 9
G | 9
D | 9
A | 7
E | 0
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 9
A | 7
E | 0
E Minor
Standard finger placement:
e | 0
B | 0
G | 0
D | 2
A | 2
E | 0
Barred:
e | 7
B | 8
G | 9
D | 9
A | 7
E | 0
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 9
A | 7
E | 0
D Major
Standard finger placement:
e | 2
B | 3
G | 2
D | 0
A | X
E | X
Barred:
e | 5
B | 7
G | 7
D | 7
A | 5
E | X
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | 7
D | 7
A | 5
E | X
C Major
Standard finger placement:
e | 0
B | 1
G | 0
D | 2
A | 3
E | X
Barred:
e | 3
B | 5
G | 5
D | 5
A | 3
E | X
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | 5
D | 5
A | 3
E | X
B Minor
Standard finger placement (barred):
e | 2
B | 3
G | 4
D | 4
A | 2
E | X
Barred (alternate):
e | 7
B | 7
G | 7
D | 9
A | 9
E | 7
Power chord:
e | X
B | X
G | X
D | 9
A | 9
E | 7
Two Websites To Help You Learn Songs
Using all the info you just learned, there are two websites you need to bookmark.
Ultimate Guitar has the guitar tabs and chords for nearly every song you’ll ever want to know. This site will also show you how to play each chord.
But just in case you want to only look up how to play chords separate from a specific song, ChordFind is your go-to resource.
